Collections care and conservation

This resource, from the South West Museums Programme, is a guide to identifying and treating cluster flies in your collection or store.

This resource, from the South West Museums Programme, is a guide for identifying and dealing with spiders in your collection.

This resource, from the South West Museums Programme, is a guide to identifying and treating death-watch beetles in your collection or museum building.

This resource, from the South West Museums Programme, is a guide for identifying and dealing with woodlice in your collection.

This resource, from the South West Museums Programme, is a guide for identifying and dealing with case-bearing moths in your collection.

This resource, from the South West Museums Programme, is a guide for identifying and dealing with biscuit and tobacco beetles in your collection.

The South West Museums Development Programme have published a set of videos on how to set up two kinds of pest traps in your museum and how to examine them.

The South West Museums Development Programme have published a couple of videos on packing methods for objects.

The South West Museums Development Programme have published a couple of videos on cleaning methods for objects.

The South West Museums Development Programme have published a set of videos about the care of entomology collections.

This template, from the Museum Development South West Programme, will help you devise your own care and conservation plan for your museum.

Use this template, from the Museum Development South West Programme, to help you develop your own collections care and conservation policy within your museum.

This resource, from the South West Museum Development Programme,  is a guide for treating active woodworm in your collection.

Choosing the right materials for displaying and storing your items is one of the most important ways you can care for your collections. This resource, from Museums Galleries Scotland, covers the basics.

This resource, from Museums Galleries Scotland, emphasises the importance of collections care to museum. Museum staff at every level are responsible for collections care, as it helps to preserve what makes your museum uniquely important.

As part of their Pest Partner project South West Museum Development Programme have created some videos on how to set up and monitor pest traps.

In this short film insect experts will tell you what tips and tricks English Heritage use in their historic properties to protect against clothes moths, and share with some simple things that can be done to avoid these pesky insect pests.

These standards and guidelines have been produced by the Society for Museum Archaeology (SMA), which is the Subject Specialist Network for British Archaeology in the UK. They seek to update the 1992 Standards in the Museum Care of Archaeological Collections, one of a series of guidance documents produced by the Museum and Galleries Commission in 1992. In addition there are individual fact sheets covering different types of object

This publication outlines guidance for best practice in working with independent conservators. These guidelines are designed to help museums and other organisations to appoint, brief and work with independent conservators.

With this e-learning tool you will learn to identify, monitor and control common pests found in museums.

The RE-ORG method is a step-by-step approach to help those who work with cultural collections to reorganise their current storage.

This is a combination of 12 fact sheets that are also available separately

The manual of maritime curatorship provides a useful introduction for those who work in maritime museums, as well as those in related museum and heritage fields who are not maritime specialists, but who may have to deal with maritime material.

In this presentation, William Brown, National Security Adviser for Arts Council England, gives an overview of museum security issues, and introduces one of six security seminars organised by the Collections Trust.

In this presentation, Nicola Walker and Dean Whiteside from Manchester Museum and Whitworth Art Gallery describe a new build project at the Whitworth.

This website explains what Spectral Power Distribution is and how it can be used as a comparator to evaluate the efficiency and impact of different light sources. This is an excellent resource for any museum wishing to understand the environmental and conservation impact of different light sources or considering a move to LED lighting.

This presentation sets out the National Trust’s approach to energy efficiency in historic properties, including detailed examples and techniques taken from current management and conservation practice.

Temperature and relative humidity are essential elements of collections care. This guide assesses the effects of temperature and humidity on items, examines how they affect one another and provides tips for creating a stable and controlled museum environment.

Museum objects require a certain kind of environment, which includes an atmosphere free of dust and pollutants. This fact sheet from describes basic types of air pollution: acidic and oxidising substances; particulate pollutants, and how to protect museum collections from damage caused by them.

The life expectancy of collections is significantly affected by the environmental conditions in which they are stored. This booklet provides guidance on environmental management to help you preserve your books and documents for as long as possible. It concentrates specifically on temperature and relative humidity.

Museums must record changes in the environment within their buildings in order to gauge the level of environmental stress to which objects are subjected. The aim of these guidelines is to help museums make the most of the environmental data they collect.

A preservation policy is an essential component of a collections management framework, regardless of the size of the collection or organisation. This booklet provides a framework for setting out an organisation’s approach to achieving the sustainable use of its collections through a preservation policy.

This handbook provides a basic ‘starter’s guide’ to key aspects of moving image archives management, preservation and access.

This guidance sets down standards for the museum care of geological collections and provides guidance on the interpretation of these standards.

This booklet outlines information about caring for and preventing damage to furniture and wooden objects.

This resource contains information and advice on how to look after ceramics. It highlights common problems, tells you what to avoid and provides practical, step-by-step instructions on how to clean and care for ceramic objects.

The management needs of military wall art are often very specific and will be influenced by various factors, including the nature of the site and the extent and condition of the decoration. These guidelines are intended to address these issues, covering the evaluation of significance, and the determination of conservation and management needs.

These guidance notes from the Museum Ethnographers Group aim to inform the conduct of workers in museums who have responsibility for ethnographic collections, to create an awareness of areas of concern particular (although not exclusive) to ethnographic material.

This resource provides images of a range of plastics degrading for different reasons and in different ways.

This publication outlines a basis for custodianship and conservation of musical instruments in museum collections. It describes standards for the care of musical instruments, covering standards for procedures, collection care and maintenance, building management, access and education.

This guide is for anyone who works with costume and textile collections in museums. It will be especially useful for those who are not specialists in costume and textiles, but who find themselves responsible for, or are regularly involved with, their day-to-day care.